My Thoughts On The Romance Novel, One True Love

Source:  Goodreads

From Goodreads...

Lord William Prescott is in want of a wife.  Unfortunately, the lady he wants is betrothed.


Miss Cassandra Chambers simply cannot understand her attraction to Lord William.  After all, she is supposed to be in love with Mr. Miles Parker.  In a scandalous twist of fate, Cassie's future changes when Lord William rides to her rescue, saves her from ruin, and makes her his wife.


When William comes to believe that Cassie's heart may always belong to another, he is determined to lock away his own.  If only he could lock away his desire for his One True Love.

_______________________________________________

I have to admit that I don't usually read these types of romance novels.  You know the one with the woman in the throes of passion and the bare chested man on the cover ripping her clothes off.  These covers normally turn me off from a book, but for February I wanted to read at least one of "these types" of romances.  And I have to say it was what I expected.

I did like the story and I liked the characters.  It was a bit slow in the beginning (and a bit repetitive), but by the middle it picked up nicely.  A few things happened that I didn't see coming, and in that I was pleasantly surprised.  Now I have read a few romance novels in my day, and I knew there would be some sexual content.  But I have to say that this book has some VERY graphic scenes, so be prepared for that if you choose to read this book. Also,  there are several typing errors through out.

Even though this type of book is not one that I typically read, it was ok.  Will I rush out to get another one like it?  No, but that's just me.  If you love romance and are not put off by graphic content then give One True Love a try.

We Finally Watched Anonymous

We finally got to watch Anonymous last night.  It was really good, and what a fascinating idea.  Did Shakespeare really write the works of William Shakespeare?  But then would it really matter either way?  No matter what, the words stay the same.

The movie portrays William Shakespeare as a bit of a drunken idiot who couldn't write but made his living as an actor.  He was paid to take credit for the work of Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford.  I spent the movie on Google trying to figure out who all the characters were, and trying to make sense of it all .  I love that kind of movie.

Most scholars agree that Shakespeare wrote his own work, but it did make a very interesting premise for a movie.

Edward de Vere
17th Earl of Oxford
Source:  Wikipedia

William Shakespeare
Source:  Wikipedia

My Thoughts On Home Front by Kristin Hannah

Source:  Goodreads

From the dust jacket...

Like many couples, Michael and Jolene Zarkades have to face the pressures of everyday life--children, careers, bills, chores--even as their twelve-year marriage is falling apart.  Then an unexpected deployment sends Jolene deep into harm's way and leaves defense attorney Michael at home, unaccustomed to being a single parent to their two girls.  As a mother, it agonizes Jolene to leave her family, but as a soldier she has always understood the true meaning of duty.  In her letters home, she paints a rose-colored version of her life on the front lines, shielding her family from the truth.  But war will change Jolene in ways that none of them could have foreseen.  When tragedy strikes, Michael must face his darkest fear and fight a battle of his own--for everything that matters to family.

Kristin Hannah
Source:  amazon

_________________________________________________

I need to thank my friend, Megan, for this book recommendation.  She suggested this book to me on facebook as one she really enjoyed, and I'm so glad she did.  I liked it so much!

Let me just start with...I absolutely LOVE the cover of this book!  And after looking around at other Kristin Hannah books, I find that she pretty much always has beautiful covers.

home front was the first Kristin Hannah book I've read, and I wasn't really sure what to expect.  Of course I've heard of  her and I've seen her books in the bookstore, but I just never picked one up.  After reading home front, I will definitely be reading more.

I went into this book knowing nothing about it.  I didn't even read the dust jacket before I bought it.  So I was very surprised when I discovered that the main character was a female pilot in the National Guard.  There is so much going on in this book...Jolene's service in the National Guard, her crumbling marriage with her husband, her preteen daughter trying to survive middle school, and the demons from her past that haunt her even more than she realized.  I wasn't prepared for the seriousness of this book.  I think I was expecting something a bit lighter, but I was pleasantly surprised.  This book is mostly about love...the love between a husband and wife, the love of a mother for her children, the love of a best friend, and the love of a soldier for her country.  It's about duty and sacrifice and most of all it's about not giving up.  I'm so happy I read this one, and I think I've found another author to explore.  Thanks again Megan!

345 Pages Read...A Few Hundred to Go

Source:  Goodreads

I'm on page 115 of 692 in The Thorn Birds, and I have to say I'm really liking it.  I was drawn into the story immediately.  I see myself finishing this one well before the end of February.

Source:  Goodreads

I'm on page 230 of 384 in Home Front.  I'm really liking this one as well, and I'm expecting to finish it in the morning.  I'll be posting a full review tomorrow.

Some Poetry, A Little Wii, And Some Pizza...Now That's Valentine's Day!

Yesterday was a really good day!  It started of with my daughter giving me a Valentine card that she made for me and inside was a poem she wrote.

Most beautiful woman
Okay with taking me places...
Makes me proud
Means the world to me
Always cares about me and helps others, my mother!


She also wrote her Daddy one as well.

Does things for me
Always cares about us
Day shift in the coal mine
Dogs are okay with you
Yay! You're my father.

Is there anything in the world better than that?  Not to me, and I love her so much!

She had her Valentine's Day party at school, so I went up to help out.  They had snacks and passed out Valentine's cards to each other.  My daughter made hers all by herself.  It was all fun to watch, and it always makes *S* happy when I come to school.  I also got to see her eyes light up and huge smile spread across her face when her name was called to go the the library to pick up her bear and balloons that her Daddy sent her for Valentine's Day.

After school I gave her my gift which was a Wii game, and we played for an hour before she had to get started on homework.

Then Ronnie brought pizza home for supper.  Not only is pizza *S*'s favorite food, but it meant that I didn't have to cook or do dishes last night which makes him doubly sweet (:  He also gave me 6 chocolate covered strawberries just because he knows they're my FAVORITE.  To top all of that off he gave me a Kindle Fire.    I had been resisting e-readers, but after reading some on *S*'s Kindle that she got for Christmas I decided I'd like to have one.  My husband, being the sweet man he is, got me one.

I am one lucky girl, and I love them both so much!

Now for books...

It's been a busy few days, so I haven't made as much reading progress as I'd hoped I would.  I did download a few books to my Kindle Fire last night.  I'm reading romance this month, so that's mostly what I downloaded.

Source:  Goodreads

Source:  Goodreads

Source:  Goodreads

Source:  Goodreads

I'm really looking forward to reading these.

No Bookstores...But I Did Get A Book

Although I went shopping Friday, I didn't have a chance to hit any book stores.  I did get one new book this weekend though.  I was lucky enough to get to hear a really great speaker on Saturday.  His name is Chad Hymas and you can learn about him by clicking HERE.  He was really great, and kind enough to give us a copy of his book.  I'm very excited to read it.

Source:  www.chadhymas.com

What I'm Reading Now...

I was planning on reading Home Front by Kristin Hannah next, but I finished Like Water For Chocolate yesterday afternoon, and I haven't gotten my hands on a copy of Home Front yet.  It's checked out at the library at the moment, and I'm sure there's a waiting list anyway.  So I looked through my bookshelves and came across The Thorn Birds.  It's been a recommendation on Goodreads for me for a while, and since it's considered a romance and it's been on my TBR (to be read) list for a long time I figured I'd read it now.  It seems like every book I've read lately has been on my TBR, which is a very good thing since my TBR list is forever long.  It feels nice to finally be making some progress on it.  Now if I would just stop adding books I might be able to tell  (:

The Thorn Birds is a long book, over 600 pages I believe, so I will probably read other romances while I'm reading it.  I'm setting a goal for myself of at least 50 pages a day on this one in hopes that I will make steady progress and finish by the end of February.  

I'm hoping to purchase Home Front today, and start reading it as well.